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Tuesday, October 5, 2010

New Info on the Superman movie reboot/sequel...
Hollywoodreporter.com and several other movie news sites have aired articles that dictate a new director has been nabbed to bring back the red-caped hero hopefully in December, about two years from now.

Zack Snyder has been highlighted as the visionary director of the Superman reboot by executive producers Christopher Nolan and David Goyer [who also wrote a script for the movie]. For those of you who don't know who Zack Snyder is, he's the guy who directed 300 and The Watchmen. Thus Zack is notoriously known for producing intense action scenes, slow-motion sequences and R-rated battles that leave you cringing and longing for more at the same time.

But Zack's style isn't all about blood and gore. He actually directed the new owl-filled 3D animated movie called with "Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole," which is currently in theaters. According to movie-gowers, that flick doesn't have a single human being in it... its just a cartoon filled with.... Owls.... lots of creepy big-eyed Owls.

It is common knowledge that Zack excels when he's asked to produce unbarred action movies.
And therefore, most fans are already wondering just how far he is going to be allowed to push the creative envelope on the remake featuring DC comics' famous mild-mannered boyscout, Clark Kent. I have a strong feeling that if Zack is allowed to have his way, Superman is going to be using four-letter curse words when he gets hit by a Kryptonite bomb launched from the invading battle cruiser of General Zod. Yes, Zod has been tagged as the villain for the forthcoming movie reboot, although the actor for the role is yet to be announced.

I do believe it is Brandon Routh [pictured on the left] that will play the role of the super-strong hero; the same guy who stared in the 2006 movie remake titled Superman Returns.

I'm not sure what sort of input the guys at DC Comics are going to have on this movie sequel, but maybe they'll be called upon to provide consultancies on what would be best for the franchise, so that they can intertwine it with some special-event comics. Or maybe the guys at DC Comics swill be boycotted completely, so that ZACK WILL HAVE TOTAL CREATIVE FREEDOM.

In fact, DC Comics has been passing through there own personal woes as of late. Those who are keeping up with the legal side of things are aware that the heirs of the Superman character and trademark have been battling arduously to regain ownership of all the original characters based in Metropolis that their father/grandfather created for DC Comics many years ago.

Super Origins and Entertainment Milestones.
Some people don't realize exactly how iconic Superman is, or how great of a cornerstone in the entertainment industry that the franchise is, within and outside the borders of the US. Superman was created back in 1932 by Jerry Seigel and Joe Shuster. They both sold the rights of the character to Detective Comics in 1938 [and that company later became known as DC Comics]. Then DC Comics slowly expanded the character's supporting cast, powers, and heritage throughout the years. And Superman became more than a household name, per his brave, bold and heroic persona.

An animation director named Max Fleischer later brought the first Superman Cartoon Series to a national TV audience back in 1941. And this was only the beginning of the plethora of animated and live-action productions that would be tied to the famous Man of Steel:

Most people born in the 90s are more familiar with the interpretations done by artist/producer/director Bruce Timm, who brought a very edgy style to the animated franchise:

Actor Christopher Reeve (September 25, 1952 – October 10, 2004) was known as one of the most memorable representations of Superman, as he stared in 4 super-movies that aired in theaters between 1978 and 1987. According to reputable sources, despite the fact that Christopher was 6 feet 4 inches tall, back in 1977 he was really skinny, and had to "buff-up" a bit for the role. And the truth was, he was never really a comic book fan... But that didn't stop fans from falling in love with him and his heroic character.

Christopher was just one of those guys that was born to play a particular role on the big screen. In my opinion, he is just as unforgettable as Neo [played by Keanu Reeves], and just as perfectly suited in terms of his mannerisms that fit the desired persona of the protagonist.
The image to the left showcases Clark Kent and Superman in the early super-movies; yet I never could understand how the workers, editors, publicists and reporters at the focal towering Daily Planet building [who published newspaper articles with pics of Superman in them all the time] were never able to see through those big nerdy glasses, in order to discern the true identity of the famous hero.

Somebody Saaaave Meeee...
Many animated and live-action TV series featuring the caped hero from planet Krypton have been released over the years, and one of the popular ones that reached syndication was called Smallville: featuring the early life of Clark Kent on a farm in Kentucky, and his eventual transition to the big city of Metropolis, where he becomes a clandestine caped-crusader. It was developed by writers/producers Alfred Gough and Miles Miller. Staring Tom Welling as Clark Kent, Smallville is officially the longest running comic book based series in television history [it started back in 2001 and its 10th and final season began in March 2010].

Smallville was definitely a show for teenage chicks who drooled over Tom's good looks and cool down-to-earth persona. And Tom was wowing the ladies long before the Twilight saga hit theaters.

The peculiar thing about this series is that beyond wearing the traditional blue and red attire in selected in the forms of a t-shirt and a jacket, Clark never wears the iconic re and blue spandex outfit that the Superman comic character made famous. Yet he does start wearing a dark t-shirt with the superman "S" logo on it and a long dark trench-coat in later seasons, in order to present a more tough-guy image.

Several famous comic characters make guest appearances in this series [like The Flash, Black Canary and Green Arrow], and there's even a young affluent, ambitious and rather devious Lex Luthor in that TV series, expertly played in all the seasons by Michael Rosenbaum. [On a side note, Michael is also the voice of The Flash in the popular Justice League cartoon series produced in conjunction by WB and DC Comics].

The Smallville series was very well done, having a masterful fusion of drama, romance and heroic action intertwined into it.

The clip above shows how the writers of the Smallville series were able to engrave even the Justice Society of America [legendary team from the superhero annals of DC comics] into the hit TV series in its 9th season, which originally aired last year I believe.

There is a McDonalds restaurant in every city on every continent. Yet Superman is more popular than Ronald McDonald around the world.... and Ronald is one hell of a famous guy. And if DC Comics looses the current stretched legal battle, then it just might be the end of their usage of Superman as a character in their DC Universe - Since the new trademark owners will be free to start their own comic company and create their own new adventures/bad guys for Superman to interact with. Hell, they could even change his costume if they want to.

Guess we'll just have to wait and see how things pan out, while hoping for the best.

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**EDIT: AUGUST 2011**

UPDATES ON THE NEW SUPERMAN / MAN OF STEEL 2013 MOVIE

More details on the Superman Movie Remake have been released over the past view months. And the movie, slated to be released in 2013, has been scooping up a stellar cast. It is currently filming, and its being directed by Zack Snyder [the guy who directed 300, Watchmen, and the garbage sci fi flick Suckerpunch]. The Man Of Steel will be played by Henry Cavill, and earlier today a preview image was released on the web from Paramount Pictures.

I'll post more relevant details on this flick, as time goes on...

**EDIT: NEW DETAILS POSTED ON SEPTEMBER 2011**

Here are some new pictures from the production set of the forthcoming "New Superman 2012" / The Man Of Steel Movie [which is currently slated for release in 2013]. And they show a Superman costume that appears to be similar to the outfit designed by Jim Lee for the "New 52" DC Comics revamp.

Not sure how comfortable Henry Cavill is in that new tight Superman costume, which has peculiar fibers; its not smooth like the costume that Christopher Reeves utilized about a decade ago. And it looks like the cape is a removable accessory. According to notes from casting interviews released to the Web, there are two alien villains in the forthcoming Superman Reboot.

The first bad guy is General Zod: He was once a Kryptonian Military General who led the army on Krypton who turned renegade, aiming to take over the planet and replace the Ruling Council with himself. Zod is going to be played by Michael Shannon.

And the second villain is a female named Faora: She is the man-hating right-hand-woman and second-in-command to General Zod who tried to help him overthrow the Ruling Council on Krypton. And she is played by Antje Traue.